Appeal to trace owner of pigeons dumped in car park
The RSPCA are appealing for help in tracking down the owner of pigeons found abandoned in a car park in Washington.
Four of the birds, who appear to be trumpeter pigeons with distinctive feathered feet, are now in the care of a Sunderlandbased rescue centre after they were found abandoned in a car park on Horsley Road.
Members of the public found them placed inside a cardboard microwave box from Asda which was taped up across the top in the car park at around 2.45pm on Sunday, March 27.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSCPA) say that all but one of the pigeons managed to get free, but four were caught and passed onto RSPCA Inspector Lucy Green.
Two were seen flying into perches nearby however there may have been eight birds in total so food was left for them in the hope that they can also be caught.
Inspector Green has said that the pigeons will be rehomed should an owner not come forward for them.
She said: “A lady driving along the road spotted the box so she and another member of the public caught four of the birds, but there were around seven or eight of them seen initially.
“Four are now at Pawz For Thought in Sunderland, where they will stay to be rehomed unless an owner comes forward.
“Two of the birds escaped, one flew onto the top of a house nearby and the other into a tree, so food was left for them.
"We also want to catch the other pigeons that have got out of the box.”
It is reported that the four pigeons that were rescued were uninjured but were suffering from
overgrown claws and some had faeces stuck to their feet.
None of the pigeons were ringed but they are not feral and are likely to have been kept as show animals.
The RSPCA are keen to trace the owner of the birds.
If anyone has any information about how they were left in Horsley Road, then they are asked to contact the RSPCA on 0300 123 8018.